Forthcoming from Catapult 7/11/2023
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“All-Night Pharmacy is a genuinely propulsive and magnetic read. Madievsky’s writing is rich and boldly dark, slick and queer in all the best ways. Immersing myself in her work felt akin to pressing on a bruise, a beautiful ache that I remembered long after I finished reading. A deeply human, wonderfully twisty novel that takes you down the rabbit hole of familial trauma and back up to the light again. All-Night Pharmacy is a glimmery showstopper of a debut novel. I’m obsessed with it.”
--KRISTEN ARNETT, New York Times bestselling author of Mostly Dead Things "All-Night Pharmacy is a black hole, a force so lively, unfiltered, and pure that you won't mind being sucked in headfirst. On a line level, Madievsky is untouchable. Somehow, she has crafted a rough-edged pill of a debut that cuts deep while also being deeply pleasurable to swallow." --JEAN KYOUNG FRAZIER, author of Pizza Girl “All-Night Pharmacy dances on the knife’s edge of a sister’s fierce love and the necessary loneliness of claiming your own destiny. Wry and tender, Ruth Madievsky’s novel offers a sensitive portrayal of addiction and recovery, queer romance, and fraught family dynamics. A beautiful book and healing read, from beginning to end.” --JEAN CHEN HO, author of Fiona and Jane "Witty, poignant, and darkly funny, All-Night Pharmacy is a vibrant debut about longing, identity, and the wild, unbreakable bonds of family. In prose that is sharp, exuberant, wry, and smart, Madievsky conjures an affecting, utterly unforgettable tale of two tempestuous sisters.” --KIMBERLY KING PARSONS, author of National Book Award Finalist Black Light “With poetic precision and clear-eyed wit, Ruth Madievsky takes a scalpel to familiar ideas of intimacy, sisterhood, and becoming, reshaping them with an understanding and magnetism all her own. Her debut is a meditation on sobriety, an excavation of belonging, and the realest portrait of inherited trauma I’ve ever seen. All-Night Pharmacy is pure sorcery, like being up till dawn with your wildest, wisest friend, ready to bond yourself to her for life.” --KYLE LUCIA WU, author of Win Me Something |
ABOUT ALL-NIGHT PHARMACY
Rachel Kushner meets David Lynch in this fever dream of an LA novel about a young woman who commits a drunken act of violence just before her sister vanishes without a trace
On the night of her high school graduation, a young woman follows her older sister Debbie to Salvation, a Los Angeles bar patronized by energy healers, aspiring actors, and all-around misfits. After the two share a bag of unidentified pills, the evening turns into a haze of sensual and risky interactions—nothing unusual for two sisters bound in an incredibly toxic relationship. Our unnamed narrator has always been under the spell of the alluring and rebellious Debbie and, despite her own hesitations, she has always said yes to nights like these. That is, until Debbie disappears.
Falling deeper into the life she cultivated with her sister, our narrator gets a job as an emergency room secretary where she steals pills to sell on the side. Cue Sasha, a Jewish refugee from the former Soviet Union who arrives at the hospital claiming to be a psychic tasked with acting as the narrator’s spiritual guide. The nature of this relationship evolves and blurs, a kaleidoscope of friendship, sex, mysticism, and ambiguous power dynamics.
With prose pulsing like a neon sign, Ruth Madievsky’s All-Night Pharmacy is an intoxicating portrait of a young woman consumed with unease over how a person should be. As she attempts sobriety and sexual embodiment, she must decide whether to search for her estranged sister, or allow her to remain a relic of the past.
On the night of her high school graduation, a young woman follows her older sister Debbie to Salvation, a Los Angeles bar patronized by energy healers, aspiring actors, and all-around misfits. After the two share a bag of unidentified pills, the evening turns into a haze of sensual and risky interactions—nothing unusual for two sisters bound in an incredibly toxic relationship. Our unnamed narrator has always been under the spell of the alluring and rebellious Debbie and, despite her own hesitations, she has always said yes to nights like these. That is, until Debbie disappears.
Falling deeper into the life she cultivated with her sister, our narrator gets a job as an emergency room secretary where she steals pills to sell on the side. Cue Sasha, a Jewish refugee from the former Soviet Union who arrives at the hospital claiming to be a psychic tasked with acting as the narrator’s spiritual guide. The nature of this relationship evolves and blurs, a kaleidoscope of friendship, sex, mysticism, and ambiguous power dynamics.
With prose pulsing like a neon sign, Ruth Madievsky’s All-Night Pharmacy is an intoxicating portrait of a young woman consumed with unease over how a person should be. As she attempts sobriety and sexual embodiment, she must decide whether to search for her estranged sister, or allow her to remain a relic of the past.
PRESS
Named a Most Anticipated 2023 Book by
★ Buzzfeed
★ Vogue
★ Nylon
★ Literary Hub
★ Goodreads (twice!)
★ Hey Alma
★ Library Journal
★ Pink News
★ Los Angeles Daily News / OC Register
★ Debutiful
★ The Everygirl
★ Publisher's Lunch (Buzz Books 2023)
Press/Bookseller Praise
"Hilarious, insightful, and unapologetically queer. "
--Buzzfeed, David Vogel
"If you’re looking for a wild and delightfully weird sister story, this book is for you; Madievsky expertly weaves threads of queerness, addiction, Jewish mysticism, and more into this novel about a young woman struggling to define herself in present-day Los Angeles without the presence of her chaotic, captivating older sister."
--Vogue, Emma Specter
"All-Night Pharmacy by Ruth Madievsky had me reeling; what a poetic fever dream of familial love, violence, and devotion, with the most arresting sentences and images you can imagine."
—The Millions
NBC: Amid record book bans, queer writers come out swinging in 2023
Book Riot: What We're Reading
"All-night and all-consuming.”
—Wesley Minter, Third Place Books
“A tender and laugh-out-loud funny debut about one woman's journey to find what she really wants in life. Exploring themes of family dynamics, generational trauma, coming out, and addiction, this book stuck with me long after I turned the final page. Stunning, hilarious, insightful, and VERY queer. I loved it.”
—David Vogel, Literati Bookstore
"It bit me, it patted my head, it ran me over, it held my hand. Madievsky writes about drugs, wandering around your early 20's, the unmatched and sometimes dangerous obligation of the sisterly bond, Russian and Jewish heritage, psychics and the sense of believing in something so well, I was entranced."
—Emily Sperber, Third Place Books
“What seems like a millennial ennui drug addiction story quickly develops into an astute novel about both generational and personal trauma, immigrant family pressures (all too real), queerness, and trying to figure out what one’s life should be.”
—Anton Bogomazov, Politics & Prose
"A spiraling look into a toxic sisterhood and an exploration of addiction, ALL-NIGHT PHARMACY captivated me from the very first page. The author deftly pulls the reader into rooting for the unnamed narrator, as she tumbles in and out of addiction and relationships. "
—Mallory Melton, BookPeople
"...a wonderful debut. I was wrapped up in the world of the story and all its soft and then hard-hitting moments. This novel is a lightning bolt burned into my vision."
—Torrin Nelson, Queen Anne Book Company
“In All-Night Pharmacy by Ruth Madievsky two sisters Debbie and the unnamed narrator are entangled in a toxic relationship as each deals with addiction, inherited trauma, and a schizophrenic mother. The older sister Debbie is estranged from her family and deemed a bad influence on the younger sister who dreams of attending college. In order to survive each sister must forge a life independent of the other. Despite the heavy subject All-Night Pharmacy is interspersed with humor and warmth. I love this book!”
—Caitlin Luce Baker, Island Books
★ Buzzfeed
★ Vogue
★ Nylon
★ Literary Hub
★ Goodreads (twice!)
★ Hey Alma
★ Library Journal
★ Pink News
★ Los Angeles Daily News / OC Register
★ Debutiful
★ The Everygirl
★ Publisher's Lunch (Buzz Books 2023)
Press/Bookseller Praise
"Hilarious, insightful, and unapologetically queer. "
--Buzzfeed, David Vogel
"If you’re looking for a wild and delightfully weird sister story, this book is for you; Madievsky expertly weaves threads of queerness, addiction, Jewish mysticism, and more into this novel about a young woman struggling to define herself in present-day Los Angeles without the presence of her chaotic, captivating older sister."
--Vogue, Emma Specter
"All-Night Pharmacy by Ruth Madievsky had me reeling; what a poetic fever dream of familial love, violence, and devotion, with the most arresting sentences and images you can imagine."
—The Millions
NBC: Amid record book bans, queer writers come out swinging in 2023
Book Riot: What We're Reading
"All-night and all-consuming.”
—Wesley Minter, Third Place Books
“A tender and laugh-out-loud funny debut about one woman's journey to find what she really wants in life. Exploring themes of family dynamics, generational trauma, coming out, and addiction, this book stuck with me long after I turned the final page. Stunning, hilarious, insightful, and VERY queer. I loved it.”
—David Vogel, Literati Bookstore
"It bit me, it patted my head, it ran me over, it held my hand. Madievsky writes about drugs, wandering around your early 20's, the unmatched and sometimes dangerous obligation of the sisterly bond, Russian and Jewish heritage, psychics and the sense of believing in something so well, I was entranced."
—Emily Sperber, Third Place Books
“What seems like a millennial ennui drug addiction story quickly develops into an astute novel about both generational and personal trauma, immigrant family pressures (all too real), queerness, and trying to figure out what one’s life should be.”
—Anton Bogomazov, Politics & Prose
"A spiraling look into a toxic sisterhood and an exploration of addiction, ALL-NIGHT PHARMACY captivated me from the very first page. The author deftly pulls the reader into rooting for the unnamed narrator, as she tumbles in and out of addiction and relationships. "
—Mallory Melton, BookPeople
"...a wonderful debut. I was wrapped up in the world of the story and all its soft and then hard-hitting moments. This novel is a lightning bolt burned into my vision."
—Torrin Nelson, Queen Anne Book Company
“In All-Night Pharmacy by Ruth Madievsky two sisters Debbie and the unnamed narrator are entangled in a toxic relationship as each deals with addiction, inherited trauma, and a schizophrenic mother. The older sister Debbie is estranged from her family and deemed a bad influence on the younger sister who dreams of attending college. In order to survive each sister must forge a life independent of the other. Despite the heavy subject All-Night Pharmacy is interspersed with humor and warmth. I love this book!”
—Caitlin Luce Baker, Island Books
